Self-opening flap for garment bags



March 31, 1953 S. H. MARKS SELF-OPENING FLAP FOR GARMENT BAGS Filed April 15, 1950 INVENTOR SHUL H. MARKS ATTOR EY Patented Mar. 31 1953 SELF-OPENING FLAP FOR GARMENT BAGS Saul H. Marks, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Phoenix Closet Accessories, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 15, 1950, Serial No. 156,168

This invention relates to garment bags usually constructed of flexible materials and employing a separable fastener closure controlling'the flap opening of the bag to give access thereto in insertion and removal of garments. More particularly, the invention deals with a device or attachment for bags of this kind for automatically moving the closure flap or door portion of the bag into open position in the operation of moving the separable fastener into open position.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a garment bag showing the door or closure flap in closed position in full lines and indicating the same in a partially opened position in dot-dash lines.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 showing only the framework of the bag.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing parts in a difierent position; and

Fig. 4 is a view looking in the direction of the arrow 4 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, I have indicated at III a flexible garment bag having suitable hanger means I I opening through the upper end thereof and extending from a garment hanging bar I2 disposed within and extending between the side walls of the bag. One narrow side wall I3 of the bag has, adjacent one edge thereof, a closure separable fastener I4, the lower portion of which curves, as seen at I5, to the opposed side edge, so that the flap or door I6 can be moved into an opened position to give access to th interior of the bag.

The upper edge portion of the door or closure flap I6, in the construction shown, is also preferably secured by a separable fastener, as indicated at I1, the fastener closing from left to right and opening from right to left, as seen in Fig. 1. The sliders of the fasteners I4 and I1, as well as the corner portion I8 of the door or flap I6, are preferably housed within .a flexible and liftable corner flap I9, as clearly indicated inFig. 1.

The upper portion of the bag It] has a bordering rectangular frame 20 which is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. Attached to this frame, at the corner portion 2I of the bag, note Fig. 1, is a triangular casing 22 having side wall portions wrapped around the frame, as indicated at 23 and 24.

3 Claims. (Cl. 206-7) Pivotally supported in the casing, as seen at 25, is a throw-plate 26 having an arm 21 secured thereto, the arm 21 having a short end 28 fixed in a curled portion 29 of the plate 26, the arm 21 proper being offset from the short portion 28 by a perpendicular portion 30, as clearly seen in Fig. 4 of the drawing. The outer and lon portion of the arm 21 is adapted to be stitched or otherwise secured to the upper edge portion of the door or closure flap I6 in the manner indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The throw-plate 26 has an offset apertured member 3|, with which one end of a spring 32 is coupled. The other end of the spring is secured to a corresponding member 33 on the easing 22. Normally, the spring and throw-plate are in the position seen in Fig. 2, that is to say, with the arm 21 supporting the flap or door It in closed position. However, upon moving the slide fastener I1 into open position, thus freeing the upper edge of the door or flap IS, the instant the separable fastener I4 is started to move into its open position, the corner I8 will be released and is urged outwardly to a slight extent, by the natural pull on the slider of the separable fastener, which automatically moves the member 3| of the throw-plate 26 into an offcentered position. The instant that this offset position of the plate 26 occurs, the spring 32 will then automatically operate to swing the door or flap I6 into the open position by swinging the arm 21 outwardly in the position illustrated in Fig. 3.

The operation of closing the separable fastener I4 will automatically operate to swing the arm 21 inwardly until the same reaches the dead center or locked position, shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

The plate 34 is provided on the casing, which may act as a stop to check movement of the arm 21 into closed position. However, the door or flap I6 itself will check this movement when the. device is in use.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A supporting frame and door operating unit for a garment bag, said unit comprising a rectangular rod frame, one corner portion of the frame having a substantially triangular casing fixed thereto, a plate pivoted to the casing adjacent the center thereof, an arm fixed to the plate and adapted to be positioned longitudinally of one side of the frame and one side of said casing, a spring for actuating said plate and arm, said spring being fixed to one corner of said casing and normally extending across the pivotal portion of said plate and fixed to one edge thereof, the normal position of the spring supporting the plate in an ofi-dead-center position with the arm longitudinally of one side of the frame, and said spring being adapted to swing the arm to a position substantially at right angles to said side of the frame, when the plate is released from its first named position.

2. In garment bags of the character described, a rectangular frame supporting top and side walls of a garment bag, a casing mounted in one corner portion of said frame and arranged on the inner surface of said top wall, a throw plate pivotally supported on the casing, a spring coupled with said plate and the casing at positions disposing said spring slightly beyond dead-center position with respect to the pivot of said plate in the normal position of said plate, an elongated arm fixed to and extending from said plate, one side wall of the bag having an opening extending downwardly from a free edge of the top wall, a flap for closing said opening, said arm being fixed to and extending along the upper edge of said flap in said normal position of the throw plate, and means independent of said arm and plate for imparting a slight movement to the arm, in a direction to open the flap, to move the throw plate from dead-center position maintained by said spring, allowing the spring to swing said arm and flap automatically into a position substantially at right angles to the closed position of the flap and normal position of said arm.

3. In garment bags of the character described, a rectangular frame supporting top and side walls of a garment bag, a casing mounted in one corner portion of said frame and arranged on the inner '4 surface of said top wall, a throw plate pivotally supported on the casing, a spring coupled with said plate and the casing at positions disposing said spring slightly beyond dead-center position with respect to the pivot of said plate in the norma1 position of said plate, an elongated arm fixed to and extending from said plate, one side wall of the bag having an opening extending downwardly from a free edge of the top wall, a flap for closing said opening, said arm being fixed to and extending along the upper edge of said flap in said normal position of the throw plate, means independent of said arm and plate for imparting a slight movement to the arm, in a direction to open the flap, to move the throw plate from deadcenter position maintained by said spring, allowing the spring to swing said arm and flap automatically into a position substantially at right angles to the closed position of the flap and normal position of said arm, two closure means for said flap, and one of said means being at the upper edge of the flap.

SAUL H. MARKS.

REFERENCES CITED lhe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 736,714 Gendron Aug. 18, 1903 1,420,347 Spencer June 20, 1922 1,832,715 London Nov. 17, 1931 2,116,197 Gersten May 3, 1938 2,128,099 Marks Aug. 23, 1938 2,236,115 Schwartzman Mar. 25, 1941 2,456,840 Rogers et al. Dec. 21, 1948 

